A R T I S T B I O

A L E X A N D R O S W A S H B U R N

A lover of the city and a painter of intimacy. Renaissance man of necessity. Alexandros Washburn is best known as New York City’s Chief Urban Designer during the Bloomberg era. Yet he began and remains a painter, throughout a career that made him an architect, a community leader, a builder, a writer and a scientist.

First, he became an architect when he saw that architecture could change cities. He joined government when he saw architecture fail in support of social cohesion. He became an urban designer when New York rebuilt after 9/11. He became a scientist when Hurricane Sandy devastated his neighborhood. He became a writer when the message of resilience needed a voice.

Throughout an increasingly public career, he painted steadily and quietly. His studios were in Williamsburg, on Waverly Place and now in Red Hook.

His public roles required equanimity, empathy and broad consensus. His private paintings are an oasis: solitary, introspective, emotional. Their intensity captures intimacy while the public world changes.